


Protection

by MissMorland



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Julia is alive, domestic life, is what i really mean by that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 23:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11241189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMorland/pseuds/MissMorland
Summary: Magnus can't bear to leave Julia alone, not after what happened. He has to protect her, no matter what it takes.





	Protection

**Author's Note:**

> some bittersweet angst featuring my favorite taz pairing

"I'm home!"

Magnus shut the door behind him and sat in the chair by the door to unlace his boots. Julia rounded the corner, smiling. Magnus felt his heart melt just at the sight of her.

"Hey, stud," she said with a wink. He smiled back at her as he stood and walked forward to embrace her. He held her tightly as always, kissing her cheek as he squeezed her. Vanilla...she smelled like vanilla, as always. She dabbed a drop or two of it behind her ears every day, just enough to make her smell like freshly baked cookies. To Magnus, vanilla smelled like home. He pulled her as close as he could—which wasn't as close anymore. Her pregnant belly had begun to get in the way after she began showing about a month ago—not that Magnus minded that one bit.

Julia coughed a little bit, then laughed. "Ease up, babe, you'll crush my ribcage."

Magnus let go hastily, though his hand lingered at her back. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I just—I missed you."

She smiled and kissed him. "I missed you."

Magnus rested a hand on her round belly. "How's my little girl doing?"

Julia laughed. "You know it could be a boy too, right? You can't will this baby into being a girl."

"I just have a feeling," Magnus said.

Julia smiled and shook her head, and he kissed her head, just below the scar behind her ear. Julia took his hand and led him to their living room. "How was your day?" she asked as she sat down on the couch.

Magnus dropped into the seat on the other side of the couch, and pulled one of her feet into his lap. "It was good," he said, rubbing his thumb along the ball of her foot the way she liked it. Being on her feet for even a short amount of time, let alone all day, made them ache with the extra weight of the baby. Julia wasn't a small woman; she was stocky like her father, and strong. But babies are heavy, and theirs took a toll on her.

Julia let her head fall back and released a breath, closing her eyes. "Get a lot of work done?" she asked.

"Yeah, I finished the order I was working on and started another." He switched to the other foot.

"Anything fancy?"

"Just a dresser for Percy Hullman, you know, that guy who lives up on the hill? He's a weird one, but he's nice enough." Magnus thought for a moment. "He wants some woodland scenery carved onto the headpiece, but nothing challenging."

Julia smiled playfully and pushed her toe into his hand. "Nothing challenges you anymore," she teased.

He chuckled. "You're not wrong," he said.

Now seemed as good a time as any to bring up what had been on his mind lately. Magnus bit the inside of his cheek, then spoke carefully. "Actually, most of it is so easy, I think I could work on it from home."

Julia opened her eyes and looked at him, puzzled. "From home?"

"Yes," Magnus said slowly. "I'm not sure I really need to work with the guild right now. I don't need the help that badly. Nothing I'm working on is too hard to bring home."

Julia still looked confused. "But I thought you said you liked this new guild?"

Magnus shrugged. "I mean, they're good people. I like them. I just don't know that I need to be with them to work."

Julia thought for a moment before replying carefully. "Are at sure that's why you want to work from home?"

Magnus hesitated. He didn't want her to think he didn't trust her, but... "I guess I'd just feel better if I knew you were safe."

"Why wouldn't I be safe?"

"I mean—it's not that I think you won't be," he said hastily. "But I just...well..."

Magnus debated dropping the whole thing; he wasn't sure if it was worth bringing up again. But Julia was watching him expectantly, so he figured he had to follow through.

"I thought you would be safe...before. You know," he said. "Back at Raven's Roost."

Julia's eyes softened. She looked like he'd confirmed her suspicions. "Magnus, you know we're safer here."

Magnus tried not to let the urgency he felt creep into his voice. "No, Jules, I don't know that," he said. "I thought we were safe before, I thought Kalen was gone, and he wasn't. How do I know he won't come back again?"

"How could he find us here?" Julia asked.

"I don't know, but I feel like he could," Magnus said insistently. He was getting agitated. "I don't trust him to stay away. And after he came after us before..."

Magnus didn't like to think about the before, but it haunted his nightmares. The explosions, his desperate dash for home. The roost crumbling, the Hammer and Tongs collapsed, Steven crushed under the rubble, and Julia, oh no, Julia—

There had been so much blood. His stomach soured just thinking about it. Blood on her face, her chest, her arms, soaking her clothes. The vision seemed to get worse every time he revisited it. She was pinned under a support beam of their house, fortunately not crushed, but unconscious. Magnus had almost retched when the warm, metallic scent of blood hit him. It was so potent it made him woozy.

Julia's hand on his shoulder shook Magnus out of his flashback. "Magnus? Are you all right?"

Magnus stared at her, rosy-cheeked and alive, and felt like he could cry. He knew the flashbacks weren't reality, but that didn't curb the flood of relief he felt every time he saw her afterwards and knew she was safe and well. She was okay. She was okay. She was with him, he was touching her, and she was okay.

"Magnus?"

He felt his throat relax a bit; he hadn't even realized, but it had been so tight he couldn't speak. He swallowed, then spoke hoarsely. "I...I can't..."

Julia, now sitting right beside him, both of her hands holding one of his, watched him intently. "Can't what?"

Magnus wet his lips, and met her eyes. "I can't...lose you. Not again."

Julia's eyes grew sad, and she squeezed his hand. "You didn't lose me, Magnus. I'm still here."

"You...you almost weren't," he whispered. "I almost..." He knew he was about to cry. Magnus cried often and freely, but right now he couldn't think of a worse thing than being unable to get his words out. Julia, thankfully, pulled him into a tight hug. She maneuvered onto his lap with her arms around his neck, encumbered by her rounded stomach, and pressed her lips to his ear.

"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay."

Magnus squeezed his eyes shut, clinging to her, his fingers tangled in her hair. She was breathing, alive. Vanilla scent, cinnamon skin, rosy cheeks, strong arms, dark hair—all just like they should be. She was heathy, vibrant, living, and _here_.

"Jules," he started, but didn't know where to go. She didn't care; she kissed his lips, cradling his face in her hands.

She pulled away after a moment, making very deliberate eye contact. "It's okay, Magnus. We're okay. We're safe. I'm safe." She took his hand and rested it on her belly. "She's safe," she said with a small smile. "And she always will be with you for a dad."

Magnus chuckled. He felt a few tears in his eyes, but he let them escape. "Yeah. She's safe."

Julia rubbed her thumb along his cheek, brushing stray tears away before they could disappear into his sideburns. "We're done with the past. Right now, we've got a life to live together. Lives to live ourselves. A new life to take care of." Julia smiled, a few tears in her eyes. "I never dreamed of being this happy, Magnus, and I get to share that happiness with you. So let's focus on that. We've got so much ahead of us."

Magnus rested his forehead against hers, taking her hands in his. "Yeah, we do." He smiled.

She giggled a little bit. "I love you, Magnus Burnsides."

His heart swelled. Oh, they had so much painful, beautiful life to live. He couldn't wait.

"I love you too, Jules."


End file.
